Championship Sunday is finally upon us as a set of familiar faces get set to do battle to determine who will be heading to Phoenix in two weeks for the biggest game of them all. Three teams out of last year’s final four have made it back in 2023 (Kansas City, Cincinnati, San Francisco), with only the defending champion Los Angeles Rams failing to make the postseason and being replaced by the Philadelphia Eagles. Each of these teams plays a different brand of football that excites and excels in different ways, and there is no shortage of both underdog stories and superstar name value. Without further ado, let’s get into the picks and keys to both games on today’s slate:

NFC Championship:

San Francisco 49ers (15-4) @ Philadelphia Eagles (15-3)

3:00 P.M. ET

The 49ers and Eagles could not be more different in the way that they play, but it’s very clear that they are in a class of their own in the NFC. San Francisco suffocates opponents with its top-ranked defense, giving up just 16.3 points per game in the regular season and 17.5 in two playoff games thus far. Their offense is led by Mr. Irrelevant-turned-sensation QB Brock Purdy and a bevy of speedy playmakers who make life easy for the rookie 7th-rounder. Philadelphia, on the other hand, boasts a top-3 unit on both sides of the ball. MVP finalist and 2nd Team All-Pro QB Jalen Hurts has gone 15-1 in games started this season including the playoffs, scoring 38 total TDs to just 8 turnovers. Their league-best offensive line paved the way for both Hurts and RB Miles Sanders to reach double-digit rushing scores, and WRs A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith plus TE Dallas Goedert round out an offense that can beat you in any way imaginable. Their defense boasts a pass rush that set records with 70 sacks in the regular season, not to mention the No.1 passing defense in the NFL led by the league’s best CB tandem in Darius Slay and James Bradberry. However, Philly has yet to play an opponent of San Francisco’s caliber, and the test they face this afternoon will be unlike any they’ve seen all year.

X-Factor: Can Philadelphia limit their turnovers enough to keep pace with the Niners? After committing just 3 turnovers through their first 8 games, they coughed the ball up 16 times in their last 9 contests to end the season. While Brock Purdy is likely too inexperienced to run up the score against the Philadelphia defense, it won’t matter if the Eagles can’t maintain possession, a common theme in all 3 of their losses this season.

Prediction: Eagles 24, Niners 21

AFC Championship:
No.3 Cincinnati Bengals (14-4) @ No.1 Kansas City Chiefs (15-3)

6:30 P.M. ET

A rematch of last year’s instant classic AFC Championship Game, both teams enter this game seeking redemption for different reasons. Cincy looks to avenge its heartbreaking Super Bowl loss from last season, needing to get by presumptive league MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in order to do so. The Chiefs, meanwhile, look to return to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years by knocking out the team who stunned them from 18 points down in last year’s AFC title game. Mahomes and Joe Burrow are the league’s top two QBs in many eyes, and while each of their three matchups has been decided by just three points, Burrow’s Bengals have always made plays when needed in order to win all three of those games. For Mahomes, who has put together arguably the best ever resume among QBs his age, Cincy represents the one thorn in his side that he has yet to conquer in his career.

X-Factor:

How long can Patrick Mahomes’ ankle hold up? After spraining it in the first half against Jacksonville last week, he struggled to make the same dynamic plays we’ve become so accustomed to seeing from him. If the ankle bothers him throughout the game, it’s very likely Kansas City loses another shootout to the Bengals.

Prediction: Bengals 24, Chiefs 20